COVID-19: Governors to ban inter-state travel for two weeks

Governors have agreed  to ban movement between states for two weeks as part of efforts to contain the spread of COVID-19.

They took the decision at the sixth teleconference meeting of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (NGF) which held on Wednesday.

Kayode Fayemi, NGF chairman and governor of Ekiti state, said the action became necessary because of the increasing evidence of community transmission of coronavirus.

“Following an update from the NGF Secretariat on the number of COVID-19 cases in the country, members expressed serious concern over the rising spread of the virus among health workers,” read a  communique issued at the end of the meeting,” the communique issued at the end of the meeting read.

“The governors resolved to work with the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) to ensure that health workers are adequately provided with personal protective equipment (PPE) and are constantly trained on the use of protective gears.

“In order to strengthen coordinated implementation of necessary public health recommendations across states, Governors resolved to set up COVID-19 Committees at the regional level, headed by their State Commissioners of Health.

“Regional Committees will continue to interface with the State Task Force Committees on COVID-19 already established in each state.

“The Forum also received briefing from the Governors of Lagos, Bauchi, Oyo and Ogun states who shared their experiences and lessons from the fight against COVID-19.

“Governors unanimously agreed to the implementation of an inter-state lockdown in the country over the next two weeks to mitigate spread of the virus from State to State. Only essential services will be permitted.”

Fayemi briefed the forum on the coordination efforts with the federal government, multilateral and bilateral partners, and the private sector through the Coalition against COVID-19 (CACOVID).

The forum held a minute’s silence in honour of all Nigerians who had lost their lives to COVID-19 complications, especially health personnel, who were frontline workers.

The governors also conveyed their condolences to President Muhammadu Buhari and the people of Borno on the death of Abba Kyari, former chief of staff to the president, who passed away on April 17 and congratulated Nasir el-Rufai, their Kaduna counterpart, who recovered from the disease.